Clean up of small ferro-metallic items can be very difficult to do in a cost and time effective manner. In the construction industry providing the customer with a clean and safe environment both during the building phase and upon completion is very important. Screws and nails which are often discarded throughout the day by employees can be very dangerous. This danger poses a problem to vehicles as well as to people on the jobsite.
These items if not immediately picked up become lodged over time in the ground especially after it has been raining and the soil compacts and hardens. The current method and tools which are used, that of a magnetic wand does an insufficient job of picking these items up as it is waved over the ground. Ferro-metallic items also remain buried in ground coverings such as gravel and taller grass and magnetic force alone will not remove these items. It is customary to first rake the property which is to be cleaned with a conventional rake and then to follow up with a magnet pick up device, making it a two step process to do an effective job.